Why did I choose this piece?
I chose this specific song because it was the first song i ever learnt, I learnt it in primary school on ukulele. When i bought my first guitar i wanted to learn something familiar at first, so i learned this part of the song. It was a challenge because the guitar was too big for me and the finger style patters were very awkward to get used to but I learned it nevertheless. I picked this song because it showcases the finger style techniques and its a very calming song.
Why was this performance successful?
This performance was successful because my left hand was moving up and down the frets steadily and my fingers weren’t on the wrong frets. My right hand (the picking hand) was relaxed and not tense.
Why was this performance not successful?
This performance was not successful because I was not fingerpicking just the two strings needed to play this snippet of the song, I was picking the wrong strings at the same time so the outcome of the sound was not as clean as it was intended to be. Another reason why my performance was not successful is because i was off-beat and not in line with the original song.
How could I improve in the future?
I could improve by practicing my finger style techniques and practice picking the right strings and the right strings only. I could also improve this performance by using better chords and keeping my rhythm on beat and in sync with the original recording of James bay.
SMART Targets: Practical skills:
Specific; The specific thing I need to work on my picking hand (right hand) because I sometimes strum the wrong string/strings and I would like to work on that as it does not sound good in most instances.
Measurable; One way that I can measure this is I can take a video of myself doing the same song as my initial assessment and compare the two or i could ask nick for him to listen to me play it again and give me some honest feedback.
Achievable; This is achievable because I know that I can improve my skills in this song and many others in the near future.
Realistic; This target I’ve set is realistic because i know i can improve because i already have improved since the first time i played this song.
Time-based; I would like to have achieved this target by the end of this term and project 1 (live practice).
SMART Targets: practical skills 2:
Specific; The second specific thing I need to improve on is my left hand which is pressing on the frets and creating the ability for the notes to sound out and not be muted. I would really like to learn how to switch between chords quicker.
Measurable; This is measurable by me because I’m not good at switching between chords and I will know if I become better.
Achievable; This is achievable because I know the chord shapes and all I need to work on is my speed on the switches.
Realistic; i just need to get used to the motion and positions of the chords
Time-based; i would like to achieve this target by the time we do the live performance on 18/10/22.
SMART Targets: evaluation skills:
Specific; i need to work on my evaluation skills in specification, the criticising of myself.
Measurable; when. I become more aware of stuff that’s wrong within the song that I wouldn’t have noticed before.
Achievable; yes, because I just need to inspect and analyse the songs more than usually and its not a difficult task to accomplish.
Realistic; it is very realistic because all it is is listening more and being aware of the surroundings within the track. And also expanding my knowledge of music and tempo.
Time-based; the time basis varies because I would like to be better at the basics by the within the next few weeks. But I also want to be better at the more advanced analysis and picking songs apart by the end of the learning year.